November 22, 2016

‘Ending unilateral conversion of minors good for Islam’

An Umno minister has said that the proposed amendments to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act, which will end unilateral conversion of a minor to Islam, is good for the religion.

Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz said: “As a Muslim I am very happy; this is good for Islam.

“I don’t want Islam to be used as a tool for people to get out of their responsibilities towards their spouses.

“They cannot convert thinking that they will no longer have to fulfil their responsibilities,” he told reporters at Parliament today.

Nazri, who was once the de facto law minister , was commenting on the Bill tabled in Parliament today seeking to finally put an end to unilateral conversion.

The amendment will include a new provision in regards to the religion of the child with Section 88A(1) stating that if a parent converts to Islam, the religion of the children remains the same unless both parents have agreed to the conversion of their children.

Unilateral conversion became a hot topic after two Hindu women, M Indira Gandhi and S Deepa, became involved in interfaith custody battles after their ex-husbands converted to Islam and converted their children.

The bill also seeks to amend the distribution of matrimonial assets.

According to the bill, if a Muslim convert dies before the non-Muslim partner, the matrimonial assets shall be distributed by the court to the beneficiary parties.

The civil court also has the right to look into the contributions made by the beneficiaries, in terms of money, property or work invested towards the acquisition of the matrimonial asset or payment in expenses.